HUNGARY: Interesting Exception

Hungary’s Communist government last week took over almost every privately owned plant and shop employing more than ten workers. The nationalization decree included foreign-owned businesses. Interesting exception: Soviet-Hungarian joint stock companies (most of the oil, all aviation and shipping) were left undisturbed.

One of the industries expropriated was the U.S.-owned subsidiary of the International Telephone and Telegraph Corp. I.T. & T.’s Central European representative, U.S. Citizen Robert Vogeler, and its Budapest manager, Briton Edgar Sanders, were arrested seven weeks ago and charged with organizing a widespread espionage ring. In response to this “arbitrary and inhumane” action, the U.S. has forbidden its citizens to visit Hungary (TIME, Jan. 2), and Britain has broken off trade negotiations with Budapest.